Shaft driven refrigerating apparatus



June 19, 1951 T. w. NICHOLS SHAFT DRIVEN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1947 llllll II lnvenlor 05:

A llorney June 19, 1951 T. w. NICHOLS 2,557,385

SHAFT DRIVEN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 5, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June '19, 1951 SHAFT DRIVEN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Thomas Winter Nichols, Hutton, England Application February 5, 1947, Serial No. 726,709 In Great Britain February 25, 1946 Claims.

This invention relates to motor driven refrigerating apparatus adaptable for household use and has for its object the simplifying of the construction and assembly of the compressor and receiver for the hot gas and oil, as generally used when the gas compressor is of the rotary type.

Various types of compressors are used in these small refrigerators, such as the well-known roller and vane types, and they are normally arranged and assembled inside the hot gas and oil container itself, so that besides adding extra heat to the compressor and effecting its efliciency it will be appreciated that the repair or examination of the compressor after being in service in a house is very difiicult owing to fumes and obnoxious smells-particularly if sulphur dioxide is the refrigerant used, whilst the loss of gas and oil is also considerable and must be replenished on reassembly of the apparatus.

In my invention I propose to construct the apparatus in such a manner that the compressor can be detached and removed from the hot gas and oil container with the loss of only a very small proportion of the gas and cooling oil, so that the apparatus will not need to be recharged with a new supply of gas and oil on reassembly.

To obtain these improvements as an example I propose to make the hot gas and oil container as aseparate item of the apparatus to which'the compressor may or may not be attached as preferred. In one design, however, the compressor is attached to and is carried on the container by suitable bolts, whilst the driving end of the compressor shaft and the stuiiing box is arranged to pass through a clearance hole preferably cored in the centre of the container.

Service valves for closing the outlet of the hot gas to the container and the hot lubricating oil to the oil cooler may be attached in suitable positions on the container although the oil valve may be attached direct to the compressor. The delivery valve and a suction service valve may be. fitted to the compressor as convenient, so that on these three valves being closed the compressor is entirely isolated from the hot gas container.

A suction non-return valve may be connected direct to the compressor casing or in any other convenient position on the gas suction between the suction service valve and the compressor.

A further non-return valve is fitted in the compressor discharge to the container between the compressor and the delivery service valve to prevent gas and oil blowing back into the compressor through the discharge pipe.

The above and other features of the invention are embodied in one form of apparatus which will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is an end elevation,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 in part section showing the assembly of the parts showing the oil cooler in a modified position.

Fig. 3 is a side view, partially in cross-section, of the compressor unit shown in Fig. 2', and showing the parts forming the oil feed system.

In the form of apparatus illustrated, a rotary compressor I is detachably secured to a gas and oil container 2 by bolts 3.

The container 2 is of hollow annular form and surrounds a central aperture and the shaft 4 and stufling box 5 of the compressor I lie in the central space 24, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Driven by the shaft 4 is the compressor rotor 6 which rotates eccentrically in the casing I.

The casing I is provided with a suction port 8 connected by a pipe 9 to a conventional suction non-return valve In and a screw down shut off valve II, which in turn is connected to the gas suction from the refrigerator at I2. The nonreturn valve I0 is made detachable for ease in servicing. I

The casing I is also provided with a discharge port It which is connected to the container 2 by way of the pipe I 4, discharge non-return valve I5, shut ofi valve I6 and the port IT. The nonreturn valve I'5, like the valve III, is made detachable.

Sealing oil is supplied from the container 2, under the pressure of the gas therein, to the compressor I through the shut off valve I8, the cooler I9 and the oil supply union 20 into the space at the bottom of the casing I and from there up the side ports to the end of each bearing and then along the usual oil grooves in the bearings to seal each side of the rotor 6.

The shaft 4 of the compressor is connected to the driving shaft 2| by means of a coupling 22.

The operation of the machine is conventional, gas being drawn through the gas suction connection from the refrigeratorat I2, being compressed in the compressor I and discharged to the container 2 together with an admixture of sealing oil which settles out therein; the gas then discharges through the connection 23 on the container vertically above the oil outlet and the shut-off valve I8 and is led ofi to a conventional condenser and evaporating valve (which are not shown) and so through the refrigerator and back to the suction connection I2.

It will be apparent that the compressor I may be removed for servicing with only a very small loss of gas and oil. It is only necessary to close valves H, l and 18 to isolate the compressor entirely from the gas circuit and to shut off all pressure on the oil in the cooler 19. Once this has been done the pipes 9 and Hi can be removed and the union 2!! can be disconnected; then upon disconnecting the coupling 22 and removing the bolts 3, the compressor, shaft and stufiing box can be removed as a unit, and the only loss of gas is that contained in the pipe 9 and i4 and in the compressor itself.

The removal of the compressor does not interfere with any other part of the apparatus and the loss of gas and oil being infinitesimal the set does not require recharging on reassembly.

The position of the compressor in relation to the gas and oil container may be modified, as preferred, to meet the conditions of installation, and the size of the cabinet in which the apparatus is intended to operate. Where the arrangement is as shown in the drawings, the cored hole in the gas container is preferably made larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the stuffing box or bearing so that air can circulate through the clearance space and assist in cooling the compressor unit.

I claim:

1. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a rotary compressor, an inlet passage in said compressor, a container for gas and oil, a discharge passage from said compressor to said container, a gas discharge from said container, an oil discharge passage from said container to said compressor for supplying sealing oil to said compressor, shutoii valves in each of said compressor connected passages, and unions in each of said passages between said valves and said compressor, whereby said compressor may be disconnected from said container without material loss of gas or oil from either the compressor or the container.

2. Refrigerating apparatus as defined in claim 1 including drive means for said rotary compressor, and a releasable coupling between said drive means and compressor to enable complete disconnection of said compressor.

3. Refrigerating apparatus as defined in claim 1 including an oil cooler in said oil passage between the shut-off valve and union, said cooler being below said union to prevent escape of oil when said union is disconnected.

4. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a rotary compressor including a shaft, drive means including a drive shaft, a releasable coupling between said shafts to drive said compressor from said drive means, an inlet passage in said compressor, an annular container for gas and oil freely surrounding said compressor shaft to permit the passage of air around said shaft and compressor, means removably mounting said compressor to said container, a discharge passage from said compressor to said container, a gas discharge in the top of said container, an oil discharge passage from the bottom of said container to said compressor for supplying sealing oil to said compressor, shut-off valves in each of said compressor connected passages, unions in each of said passages between said valves and said compressor, and non-return valves removably mounted in said compressor inlet and discharge passages and between said compressor and said shut-off valves, whereby said compressor may be dismounted and disconnected from said drive means and container without material loss of gas or oil from either the compressor or the container.

5. Refrigerating apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein non-return valves are provided in said compressor inlet and discharge passages, said non-return valves being removably mounted in said passages and located between said compressor and said shut-off valves, whereby said shut-oil valves may be closed and said non-return valves removed for servicing without material loss of gas from said passages.

THOMAS WINTER NICHOLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 337,874 Schuhle Mar. 16, 1886 2,001,874 I-Ieitman May 21, 1935 2,178,425 Johnson Oct. 31, 1939 2,190,138 Smith et a1 Feb. 13, 1940 

